Cyberpage

Getting the standard

Design News , in conjunction with TechSavvy.com, launched an automotive standards Technical Document Center (TDC) in October 2000. In December, we launched a new aerospace TDC. Each TDC, found at http://www.manufacturing.net/magazine/dn/ tdc.html, allows you to purchase and download valuable standards in PDF format. All you have to do is click on any of the more than 30 documents in each TDC and view its abstract, date, and purchase information. Then just click and follow the process to order. Within a few minutes the standard will be either emailed to you or you will be given a secure place to pick up the standard. We will be adding more TDCs in the near future.

Learnin'
online

One thing you gotta love about the Internet is the opportunity to learn just about anything. So this month, we searched the web and came up with these great tutorial sites. Check 'em out!

FEA with
ANSYS

Folks at Canada's University of Alberta Mechanical Engineering Department have a user-friendly tutorial on ANSYS. With simple-to-follow documents users work through the online examples. On the site are tutorials on starting up ANSYS, solid modeling, springs and joints, dynamic analysis, thermal analysis, contact-element examples, command file creation and execution, saving and restoring, printing, and working with Pro/ENGINEER. If you run into problems, the site also offers email addresses. Check it out at http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys/tutorial.htm .

Pro/E
help

Not to be outdone by the folks up north, eh, Cornell University offers a Pro/E v15.0 introductory tutorial at http://cadstudio.mae.cornell.edu/ProE.tutorial.html . The tutorial starts off with a list of useful commands and functions and a summary of basic information. Then the site gives users an introduction into parametric drafting by creating a Lego™block as an example. What's nice about this tutorial is that it tells you what you should be seeing!

A second Pro/E site is on the Cal Poly site at http://daniel.aero.calpoly.edu/edlewis/pro-E/Pro-E.html . This manual was developed to help aerospace students design their aircraft, but offers lots of other examples of use to anyone using the software. The manual was also written for v15.0. It also has a section for brand new users of Pro/E including making a part, an assembly, a drawing, an extrusion, and more.

Robotic
rote

Looking for "robotics for the masses?" Then head on over to ARS Robotica at http://arsrobotica.com/ . The site has tutorials on an Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, the history of AI, Where AI is going, DIY Sonar, ATX power supply, and even how to strip used equipment. This is a good start if you're thinking about making a robot to fetch beer as you watch some basketball.

MEMS
mastery

Looking for an introduction to microengineering? Have we found the site for you! Check out http://www.dbanks.demon.co.uk/ueng/ and learn everything from silicon micromachining, excimer laser micromachining, mask design, microsensors, and lots more.

Tons o'
tutorials

The International Engineering Consortium has tons of great tutorials on their site at http://www.iec.org/tutorials/index.html . A brief listing of the offerings include Basics of Dual-Polarized Antennas; Compact PCI: A Solution for the Next Generation of Computer Telephony Integration; Human-Machine Interface; and Smart Antenna Systems. New tutorials are added on a regular basis.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.